BAY CITY, MI — Downtown Bay City is about to come alive with the creative spirit and work of more than 110 artists specializing in a wide variety of mediums.

The YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region hosts its 41st annual Riverside Art Festival Saturday and Sunday, June 14-15, with artists set up along Water Street and in Wenonah Park. Show hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

"This is our biggest fundraiser of the year," said Dana Russel, marketing director for the YWCA. "We appreciate the support of everyone in the Great Lakes Bay Region coming out and supporting us and allowing us to put it on for 41 years.

"It's a great community event and a great family event."

As in the past, this year's festival features a variety of artwork and craft items, including pottery, jewelry, photography, glass, painting, metal, textiles, clay, weaving, copper, wood, stone, mixed media and yard art.

Admission to the festival grounds is free, but there will be plenty of artwork for sale during the two-day event.

Saginaw artist Sandra Newvine is making her third appearance at the YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region's annual Riverside Art Festival. She is among the more than 110 arts and crafts vendors scheduled to set up along Water Street and in Wenonah Park on Saturday and Sunday June 14-15.Courtesy Photo

One artist planning to attend the show is Sandra Newvine of New-Vine Design in Saginaw. She's making her third appearance at the festival.

Newvine takes dull metal she finds here and there and embellishes it with reflective glass.

"I redesign a plain piece of metal into something outrageous," she said. "What it looks like before and after is amazing."

Newvine cites her 3-foot-tall cast aluminum crane as an example.

"It was brown and very dull," she said. "I hand cut glass to make it look like feathers. It is very, very sparkly, very unique."

View full sizeSandra Newvine's 3-foot-tall crane is among the pieces she is offering up for sale at the 41st annual Riverside Art Festival.Courtesy Photo

It's also a one-of-a-kind piece, as is most of Newvine's art.

While there is only one bird, Newvine is bringing a tent full of items for the home and yard — ranging in price from $25 to $500 — she says will sparkle wherever they land.

Newvine said she has one loyal customer who stops by her booth every year.

"I made her a piece that looks like a sunrise with rays coming out," Newvine said. "She put it on her piano in her formal living room. When the sun light hits it, it brings that room alive. It just makes her happy. That's exactly what I want to do, bring smiles and lighten everybody up. If it lights up a room then you're lit up."

Making things light up goes way beyond gluing glass to metal; there is a science to it, Newvine said.

"Glass tricks your eye," she said. "When I want to make it look orange like the sun, the glass is really blue. It's not what you are seeing until you take it in the sunlight. It has that reflecting quality."

Newvine says her inspiration comes from the metal itself.

"I look at a piece of metal and think 'How I can enhance it?' " she said. "I make it stand out, not only in the yard, but a very unique piece that could be put on a wall that has dimension. When the sunlight hits it, the reflections are just spectacular."

Aside from the arts and crafts vendors, this year's festival offers a Kid's Zone featuring coloring and crafts, face painting and a bounce village. Cost is $5 for an all-day pass to the bounce village and $3 for face painting.

Sunday's festivities offer even more for children in the form of a throwback event.

Going through old newspaper clippings, the YWCA's Russel found a story about a children's bike parade once held during the festival. Thinking it was a good idea, Russell has rebranded the offering as "Shake, Rattle and Ride."

The Kids Bike Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Children should bring their bicycles to Wenonah Park at 10 a.m., where they will decorate them with items like balloons and streamers before heading through the festival in parade-like fashion.

The lead bicycle is a very special model on loan from Ray's Bike Shop.

"I stopped in one day and saw the bike sitting out there," said Russel. "It's a boardwalk bike. It has a bench that seats two people with a canopy over it, and there is a seat in the front where two toddlers can ride."

Every child participating in the parade may enter in a drawing for one boy's bike and one girl's bike.

Finally, this year's festival features a variety of food and beverages — everything from kettle corn to something new this year, Vi's Polish Cuisine.

Look for this food truck from Vi's Polish Cuisine in Wenonah Park during the Riverside Art Festival.Courtesy Photo

Just three weeks off the ground, the Sigler family from Ortonville plans to sell food like traditional pierogies and galumpki (stuffed cabbage), kielbasa and sauerkraut, polish sausage and a macaroni salad, all from recipes handed down in Dennise Sigler's family.

"My tagline is 'From my grandmother's kitchen with love' and served by my family," said Sigler, who is being joined in her food truck by husband Jim, and daughters, 15-year-old Jamie and 12-year-old Susan, serving food made by Sigler and her six sisters.

"Polish is in my blood," she said as the reason for opening this unusual food truck. "My grandmother learned from her mother. The recipes have been passed down from generation to generation."

As she prepares to make her second appearance at the Riverside Art Festival, the idea of traveling from festival to festival is now in the family's blood, she added.

"We're getting our feet wet and enjoying every minute of it," said Sigler. "We love to see the crowds. They come to the window and chat. We did our first festival Memorial Weekend at Heritage Days in Rochester and had a lot of fun. We're looking forward to doing Bay City."

Looking for dessert? Check out another new vendor — Chocolate Moonshine Co., offering all sorts of chocolate delights.

Organizers said past festivals have attracted upwards of 10,000 people and they are expecting big crowds again this year, especially if the weather remains nice.